Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Lapu-Lapu

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $845 in Lapu-Lapu, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Lapu-Lapu
Learn more

Lapu-Lapu Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Lapu-Lapu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$845

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Lapu-Lapu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Dhaka and in Lapu-Lapu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $845 in Lapu-Lapu.

Dhaka $406
Lapu-Lapu $845

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,195 in Lapu-Lapu.

Dhaka $687
Lapu-Lapu $1,195

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,545 in Lapu-Lapu.

Dhaka $969
Lapu-Lapu $1,545

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 52% less than in Lapu-Lapu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Lapu-Lapu 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$2.95 ₱186

-22.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$15.86 ₱998

-22.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$3.90 ₱246

1.28%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.28 ৳281

$2.54 ₱160

-10.24%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.58 ₱36.53

-43.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.38 ₱23.93

-57.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.29 ₱80.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 ₱142

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.76 ₱111

-51.70%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.42 ₱89.2

-57.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.94 ₱59.5

-26.60%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$2.04 ₱129

-39.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$5.68 ₱358

54.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$4.45 ₱280

-25.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.71 ₱486

-14.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$3.36 ₱211

-15.18%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.45 ₱91.5

-37.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.37 ₱149

-1.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.54 ₱97.1

-59.09%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$2.39 ₱151

-89.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.98 ₱125

-76.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.19 ₱75.2

-70.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.68 ₱42.80

-58.82%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.11 ৳1,496

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.31 ৳656

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.42 ৳794

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.28 ৳405

$1.62 ₱102

102.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.07 ₱256

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 ₱65.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 ₱95.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.25 ₱15.81

68.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.74 ₱46.77

60.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.23 ₱14.51

69.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$3.90 ₱246

-15.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.33 ₱83.4

-17.29%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$21.5K ₱1.4M

36.70%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$19.6K ₱1.2M

64.50%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$38.28 ৳4,729

$120 ₱7,559

-68.12%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$4.09 ৳506

$13.99 ₱881

-70.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$28.04 ₱1,765

-67.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$12.62 ₱795

8.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.60 ₱353

-26.61%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$103 ₱6,509

-12.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$7,848 ₱494.1K

-66.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$47.78 ₱3,008

-64.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$25.45 ₱1,603

-15.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$23.86 ₱1,502

115.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$58.5 ₱3,683

-37.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$437 ₱27.5K

-69.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$317 ₱19.9K

-79.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$1,214 ₱76.4K

-68.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$473 ₱29.8K

-59.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$229 ₱14.4K

7.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

7.2

45.56%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lapu-Lapu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Lapu-Lapu

$189 22.4% 53.2% $66

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Lapu-Lapu

$317 37.5% 386% $251

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Lapu-Lapu

$81 9.5% 35.6% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Lapu-Lapu

$70 8.3% 22.9% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Lapu-Lapu

$162 19.2% 215% $111

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Lapu-Lapu

$2.9 * 0.3% 89.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Lapu-Lapu

$24 2.8% 8.8% $1.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $437 in Lapu-Lapu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $16.00 in Lapu-Lapu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $189 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇵🇭 Lapu-Lapu

🕒 Local time

06:22 6:22 AM

08:22 8:22 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

497,604

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Lapu-Lapu 3,850 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Lapu-Lapu

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Dhaka vs Lapu-Lapu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 108% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Dhaka, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $133 in Dhaka versus $437 in Lapu-Lapu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $90.7 in Dhaka versus $103 in Lapu-Lapu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Dhaka – a meal for two runs $12.00 versus $16.00 in Lapu-Lapu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Dhaka gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Dhaka and Lapu-Lapu are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Lapu-Lapu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.